Ticker: Details on how Nick Saban left Michigan State

9:09 AM,
Nov. 26, 2013

Alabama coach Nick Saban

Written by

Kirkland Crawford
Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

While much of the college football world makes Alabama coach Nick Saban out to be a deity, many in this state, and especially Michigan State fans, still snarl at the thought of him leaving a 9-2 Spartans team "at the altar" of the Citrus Bowl in 1999, thus ushering in the Bobby Williams era.

Speculation swirls about whether Saban will leave Alabama, where he has won three national titles in the last four years (and is in the driver's seat to reach another title game), for Texas, where another title-winning coach, Mack Brown, could be on the outs.